Because I had worked the river boats some summers, pushing as far as New Orleans, I joined the Merchant Marine.

As a youngster I worked the river boats going down the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, pushing barges to Chicago, then all the way down to New Orleans.

When I joined the Merchant Marine, I went to Catalina for Maritime training. That's how I became acquainted with California.

So, I got into the law enforcement game. I worked for an outfit called Newton Detective Agency for a while. I worked eight hours on the waterfront making sure the longshoremen didn't take too many things.

New Orleans in an amazing town.

I once paddled a canoe the length of the Mississippi River all the way from Itasca to New Orleans.